Keeping it simple
Janet Dignan, founder of IR Magazine, introduces this year's report
Welcome to the investor perception study that documents the research undertaken to identify the European companies whose investor relations most impresses the buy-side and sell-side analysts and investors at whom it is aimed.
After the recent years during which Covid-19 dominated IR – along with so much else – it’s something of a relief to find hardly any mention of the pandemic in the comments from this year’s buy-siders and sell-siders. But what has replaced the Covid preoccupation in their minds? Unsurprisingly, it’s not any single concern. Instead, their comments highlight a range of areas, though it’s interesting to take a closer look at these to discover which issues really matter to them.
Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo tops this year’s rankings and this comment from a German buy-sider sums up what people like best: ‘Intesa Sanpaolo’s CFO, Stefano Del Punta, is great. He takes a lot of time to communicate with investors, and he’s straightforward and no-nonsense in meetings.’ Interestingly, this desire for plain speaking comes up in a great number of the comments from members of the investment community.
Another way of standing out is to provide just a little more information than competitors, which Vonovia seems to have found a way of doing, as evidenced by this comment from a German sell-sider: ‘Vonovia has lots of information on its website, and it is well presented with the names and direct contact details of people, which is what really sets the firm apart from many other companies.’
Access all areas The investment community also respects IR professionals who can rise above negative sentiment. Two examples are given in this year’s comments, both from UK sell-siders. First, on Karl Mahler who heads up IR at Roche in Switzerland: ‘Karl is incredibly committed; he always responds to emails and he loves the company. I often hear positive feedback from other analysts as he will even help those who are negative on the company, and that kind of support can often change one’s view.’
Second, Banco Santander, the Spanish bank about which this comment is made: ‘The IR department at Santander is always happy to provide insights to analysts. Everyone is super-helpful and professional, even if your sell-side rating is not positive.’
Impressing the investment community often requires little more than accessibility. Here’s a simple description from a UK commentator of that requirement, which makes good IR sound pretty uncomplicated: ‘The reason I’ve chosen Allianz is quite simple really – if you call the firm, someone always picks up the phone.’ Another example of straightforwardness is summed up by this Finnish buy-sider in his comment on second-placed Novo Nordisk, which incidentally displays his or her own capacity for straight talking: ‘Novo Nordisk’s meetings stick to the timeframe, do not go over and explain what they can really well, with no BS.’
That’s clear enough, and clarity is plainly something the investment community wants. It’s also something provided by the companies whose IR has impressed the investors and analysts responding to our research – enough to earn them a mention in this report. Our congratulations to them all.
